Police protection of postal activities by railway gendarmes in the Russian Empire

Kolpakov Petr Aleksandrovich ORCID: 0000-0002-1600-9937 PhD in History Senior Lecturer, Department of Russian History, Patrice Lumumba Peoples' Friendship University of Russia 117198, Russia, Moscow, Miklukho-Maklaya str., 6 1kolpakov1@rambler.ru Other publications by this author

Historical context of the problem of ensuring the security of postal transports

The importance of postal communication for the development of society and the state has historically been determined, firstly, by the importance of information exchange between people separated by considerable distances, and secondly, by the need to move funds in order to resolve various economic issues. To date, the postal service continues to play the role of one of the factors that unite the vast territories of Russia into a single whole.

The oldest postal yard in Moscow was located in the Kremlin. There were not one or even two "post offices", but several. Officially, private letters for mailing in the XVI century were first accepted in the building of the Embassy order ^{[1, p. 8]}.

Over time, mail as a complex of means that ensured the reception, processing, transportation and delivery of postal items became more complicated. Along with the tasks of achieving the fastest possible transportation of postal items, covering the largest possible number of settlements with delivery, the Russian post faced the need to resolve the issue of ensuring the safety of postal items.

The money transported by postal employees was a desirable goal for malicious "dashing" people who sought to illegally improve their material well-being. It is known that the most resonant mail robberies in the imperial period of Russian history were brought to the attention of the autocrats. So, in the spring of 1800, the Kostroma post office was robbed for the colossal sum of 19,616 rubles. Most of the stolen money was found immediately, but the robbers managed to spend or lose 1,400 rubles. Emperor Paul I, in a decree dated March 15, ordered to recover the lost money from the Kostroma governor Kochetkov, "having previously sequestered his estate" ^{[2, p. 88]}. In the summer of 1854, an extremely daring and bloody robbery of postal transport took place in the Mogilev province. On the eighth verst of the road from Godilovichnaya station to Merkulovichi, the bodies of the murdered driver and postman were found. The contents of the money bag and the suitcase of the mail van were stolen. Emperor Nicholas I was notified of the robbery . By order of the chief of the Gendarmes Corps, Count Orlov, gendarmerie Colonel Slezkin with a whole team of assistants was sent to the crime scene to investigate. After it became obvious by the end of August that the measures taken by the gendarme to detect the criminals did not bring results, the case was entrusted to a special investigator – court counselor Waxel. The truth was established due to repentance and the appearance of the only participant in the crime to the Kiev police ^{[2, pp. 87-101]}.

The emergence of the problem of mail protection on railways

The first railway in Russia, which transported postal correspondence, was the Tsarskoye Selo ^{[3, p. 53]}. Recall that the project of this road was the first implemented in the Russian Empire. The construction of the road was completed in 1837 ^{[4, pp. 251-257]}. During the construction of the first "chugunka", Emperor Nicholas I ordered to assign a special fee to the society of the Tsarskoye Selo Road for the transportation of mail between St. Petersburg, Tsarskoye Selo and Pavlovsk ^{[3, p. 53]}.

Special mail wagons for the transportation of correspondence accompanied by the ranks of the post office were introduced for the first time on the Mykolaiv railway. Mail wagons were sent with mail and passenger trains ^{[3, p. 53]}.

The concentration of significant material resources when moving along the "cast iron" made it an attractive place for illegal "fishing of dashing people" – theft, robbery and robbery. Banknotes and jewelry largely became more accessible and vulnerable to theft, secret or open, when they were removed from storage and placed in railway wagons.

The severity of the problem of the spread of robbery and robbery within the railways is confirmed, for example, by a secret circular order of the headquarters of the Separate Corps of Gendarmes dated September 4, 1909, in which the chiefs of the gendarmerie police departments of the railways pointed out the need to "... take the most energetic measures, strengthen supervision by subordinate officials of criminal elements in order to prevent the possibility of malicious acts and for the successful search and detention of the perpetrators" in connection with the increase in the number of daring attacks on trains, station ticket offices, cashiers and art workers ^{[5, L. 440]}.

Organization of the protection of postal items by the gendarmerie railway police at the beginning of the XX century .

In 1907, the Ministry of Finance, experiencing difficulties in transporting treasury valuables by rail, petitioned the War Ministry and the Ministry of Internal Affairs for assistance. The Ministry of Internal Affairs has recognized it possible to appoint escorts at each echelon: one at a time and on large lines – two non-commissioned officers. The ranks of the gendarmerie police departments of the railways assisted the ranks of the post office at the stations where mail was loaded and unloaded, monitored the timely delivery and exchange of mail, monitored the vigilance of postmen ^{[6, p. 43]}.

The organization of police support for the activities of the post office when following the railways would be impossible without timely informing by the post offices of the heads of the gendarmerie railway departments.

As an example of such a notification about the need to send a gendarme outfit, we will give the attitude of the assistant post director of the Moscow Post Office: "The Ministry of Internal Affairs. Moscow Post Office. January 3 days 1909 No. 304. Urgent. Secret.  To the head of the gendarmerie police department at the Nikolaevsky railway station in Moscow. Tomorrow, January 4, at the Nikolaevsky railway station, large valuables that require protection will be delivered together with the general mail, after the departure of the mail train (4: 30 p.m.). Informing about this, the Post Office asks Your Excellency to make an order to take security measures when receiving these valuables at the Nikolaevsky railway station, unloading from the mail car of the horse-drawn road and loading into the carriage of the mail train. Assistant Post Director" ^{[5, l. 3]}.

The relations about the receipt of valuable postal goods at the railway stations were transferred to the gendarmerie leaders in order to prevent the possible commission of illegal actions. Sometimes the numbers of the expected especially valuable mail items were secretly reported ^{[7, l. 207]}. The regularity of such relations is noteworthy: only during the period from January 5 to January 12, 1909, the chief of the gendarmerie police department at the Nikolaevsky railway station received at least five of them ^{[5, L. 5, 6, 9, 10, 13]}.

The heads of the departments of the gendarmerie police departments of the railways compiled special lists of the lower ranks seconded outside the permanent service areas, who accompanied the valuables of the post office, indicating the names and surnames of non-commissioned officers, train numbers, reasons for secondment (for example, "by telegrams of the heads of postal and telegraph offices") and the total number of gendarmes ^{[8, L. 84]}. Those who followed in the train convoy were entitled to payments of daily allowance [see, for example, 9, l. 31].

At the same time, the idea that every postal transport was taken under protection would be inconsistent with the truth. The entire colossal mass of goods transported by rail at the beginning of the XX century in the Russian Empire, the police could not protect. In addition, the post offices were not able to transmit information to the gendarmerie about each transport. So, in February 1912, the assistant post director of the Moscow Post Office informed the head of the Biryulevsky branch of the Moscow-Kamyshinsky Gendarmerie Police Department of Railways at the Paveletsky railway station in Moscow that mail wagons departing daily from Moscow along the Ryazan-Ural railway were guarded by the ranks of the department, but the specified gendarmerie officer was not telegraphed about the shipments. Among the reasons for this, the assistant post director indicates, firstly, the responsibility of the local gendarmerie leadership regarding the assessment of which goods should be accompanied by the transport police, and secondly, the transfer of bags with valuables to mail wagons en route, which is why it was not possible to fully determine the degree of importance of the composition. At the same time, the postal rank assured the gendarme that upon receiving information about the passage of significant postal valuables to Moscow or their passage through the city by rail, the latter will be notified without fail – "without delay on a dependent order" ^{[10, L. 14-14 vol.]}.

Questions of tactics of repelling attacks by gendarmes on trains carrying mail

The experience of escorting mail trains allowed the railway gendarmerie to accumulate and summarize information about the behavior of robbers who attempted to attack transports.

In 1910, in a Separate corps of gendarmes, a draft instruction was being developed for a gendarme who was going to accompany a mail train.

Taking into account the high risk of the task being performed, the gendarme had to take a number of precautions in order, firstly, to be able to preventatively reveal the criminal intent if it exists, and, secondly, if this fails, to occupy the most advantageous position at the time of the attack.

Being on a train to which mail cars were attached (in addition, mail could be transported in compartments specially provided for by the design of passenger cars), the gendarme had to be among the public, listen to conversations, look closely at passengers. It was necessary to devote time to rest only during the day, preserving strength by nightfall and, especially, by dawn, when the vulnerability of the train increased due to a decrease in the general vigilance of passengers and transport employees. On the way, it was necessary to change the location so that, even if noticed by intruders who could follow on the train, they would not be given an advantage in terms of understanding the location of the police rank at the moment when they decide to proceed with the execution of the criminal plan ^{[11, L. 36 vol.]}.

When the train stopped, the gendarme had to leave the car, while lingering in the vestibule, and having a rifle and revolver ready for use ^{[11, l. 36 vol.]}. Thus, he protected himself from the possibility of becoming the target of an unexpected attack by robbers, and when they tried to get into the car quickly after stopping the train, he met criminals are fully armed.

Interesting from the point of view of understanding the service experience of the railway police was the provision of the draft instruction, according to which, if a gendarme heard the sound of a bomb explosion, he had to leave the car, run away from the train for about a hundred steps and, choosing a convenient position, using a fold of the terrain or some artificial barrier, conduct rifle fire, hitting criminals ^{[11, l. 36 vol.-37]}. Instruction, at first glance, is not an obvious solution to the problem of protecting valuable cargo. Following him, the gendarme moved away from the protected transport. However, such an action increased his chances of survival if the bombers threw several shells at the car. Having broken the distance, the gendarme gained a significant advantage, being able to hit opponents with rifle fire, while being out of reach of a bomb throw.

In the event that the robbers still managed to take possession of the locomotive or with the betrayal of the locomotive servants, the convoy accompanying the train had to open rapid fire on it so that the locomotive would not take the mail car away.

If the attack was repulsed, then the escapees had to be "chased by a bullet"; if the latter moved on carts, then it was necessary to aim at the horses. The gendarme had to approach the surrendered "with caution and not otherwise than by forcing them to raise their hands up and have a rifle or revolver ready himself" ^{[11, l. 38-38 vol.]}.

Useful for the railway gendarme was the knowledge of the weapons usually used by bandits in attacks on mail trains.

Often the robbers' companion in their "dashing deeds" was a Browning pistol. The draft instruction noted its advantages and disadvantages: "... acts at a distance of no more than 50 steps, very accurately hits at a distance of up to 5 steps and very weakly – 30-50 steps. At a distance of 5 steps, the pistol is likened to a machine gun, since it acts by self-loading, at a distance of 30 to 50 steps, due to the low initial speed and charge, the reliability of the weapon is weak and defeats are very rarely fatal." The Browning was charging slowly and rather inconveniently, inserting the clip required a calm state. Obviously, the tremor caused by the excitement of the robbery situation did not simplify the process of handling this pistol, and experienced criminals, wanting to avoid long manipulations with it, preferred to have two Brownings with them ^{[11, l. 37]}. With this in mind, the gendarme should have remembered that the bandit who shot the clip continues to pose a danger and may be able to strike at a distance.

It was difficult for the bandits to handle the revolver of the Mauser system. This revolver was bulky and noticeable when carried. Attaching a box (butt) to it was a long and troublesome task ^{[11, l. 37 vol.]}.

For convenient concealed carrying under outerwear, bombs were made in a flat case with "ears". As a rule, the shell was thin and made of tin, which allowed to increase the explosive charge. Such a bomb did not give fragments, "destroyed objects and smelled with the force of gases." The person throwing the bomb had to be no closer than 20 paces from the target, otherwise he could have suffered. It was impossible for the defenders of the mail cargo to predict at what distance the bombs that were with the "dashing people" could bring death. The effect depended on the mass of the charge and its composition. However, at a distance of more than 50 paces, the bomber posed much less danger – the explosion could stun gendarmes and guards, but not cause physical injury ^{[11, l. 37-37 vol.]}.

The rifle was the basis of the gendarme's armament, guarding the mail on the way along the railway. She was irreplaceable on "in the open and from afar", gave an advantage when fighting against bombers and bandits armed with pistols. It was inconvenient to use a rifle in close quarters and at close range, because the gendarme's equipment was supplemented with a revolver ^{[11, l. 38-38 vol.]}

To seize postal valuables, the robbers stopped the train, for which they had accomplices on the locomotive or threw bombs at its wheels in order to damage the movement mechanism. After the stop, they tried to deprive the convoy of the ability to resist as quickly as possible, throwing bombs at the cars and shooting those who ran out of the doors and jumped into the windows. Also, postal and baggage wagons were smashed by bomb explosions. While some of the criminals were engaged in extracting valuables, the other was watching the passengers, often not disdaining to rob them, at other cars. Crimes of this kind were committed, as a rule, rapidly and were limited to 20-30 minutes ^{[11, l. 37 vol. – 38.]}.

The danger of robbing mail transports forced the gendarmerie railway authorities to send subordinate officials to guard them outside the railways. Obviously, such use of the railway police did not correspond to the very logic of its special purpose. Such decisions could not bring satisfaction to the gendarmerie officers themselves: it was extremely difficult to carry out police service within the "chugunka", the fulfillment of the tasks of both the general and the "higher" police here required considerable exertion of forces. However, valuable cargoes had to reach their addressees, and gendarmerie outfits were sent to escort mail wagons en route to railway stations. For example, on February 16, 1912, the head of the Saratov branch of the Tambov-Ural Gendarmerie Police Department of Railways notified the head of the department with an urgent report about the order made regarding the daily appointment of two non-commissioned officers to escort mail from the Saratov-passenger station to the Pokrovskaya Sloboda station when transported by horse across the Volga ^{[8, l. 22]}. In winter, the mail, accompanied by gendarmes, moved along the specified route on an icebreaker ^{[8, l. 23]}.

About the problem of identifying informants of bandit groups among the ranks of the post office

When describing the tactics of criminals who carried out robberies on mail transports traveling by rail, within the framework of this article, the betrayal of locomotive servants was mentioned as a possible circumstance of such an event. No less dangerous was the emergence of accomplices of bandit groups among representatives of the post office. They could transmit information about the degree of value of the mail, the time of the route, the number of the convoy and its vulnerabilities.

The state sought to prevent the penetration of such informants into the postal department. The identities of candidates for admission to the postal service were checked for the presence of compromising information on them. Potential traveling postmen were sent to the heads of departments of gendarmerie police departments of railways to resolve the issue of the absence of obstacles to their appointment ^{[10, l. 23]}. Before sending for the escort of particularly valuable cargo, the officials of the post office who were already in service were also checked. For example, on February 21, 1912, the head of the Biryulevsky branch of the Moscow-Kamyshinsky Gendarmerie police Department of Railways informed the head of the Kashira postal and telegraph office about the need to inform him "... the titles and patronymics of postmen Peter Streltsov and Alexander Kuzmin" ^{[10, L. 15]}. The gendarmerie authorities strove to ensure that subordinates were not limited to only verification measures in relation to postmen. The top secret report of the head of the Kursk branch of the Moscow Gendarmerie Department of Railways dated March 17, 1909 contains an opinion on the expediency of attempts to recruit agents among the ranks of the post office or tacitly promote the appointment of existing agents to postal positions ^{[12, L. 10]}.

Conducting intelligence work by gendarmes in order to uncover the criminal intentions of bandit groups

It was necessary not only to prevent the introduction of accomplices of "dashing people" into the post office and the department of railways. Preventing attacks on mail transports required the gendarmerie to take measures to extract information about criminal intentions from the social environment around the railways. Listening to the conversations of passengers, immediately cutting off idle conversations, being present on platforms, in buffets, among railway workers and employees – such tasks were assigned to agents whose purpose was to collect information about bandit intentions. The boards of private railways were extremely interested in the well-being of their "pig iron" and often sought funds for the establishment and maintenance of special agents by railway gendarmes to combat banditry. Such agents were provided with nameless tickets that allowed them to constantly move within the assigned area. The Gendarmerie Railway Police was quite noticeably limited in resources, both human and financial. And if the railway did not allocate allocations for special agents necessary to obtain information about the robbery intentions, then such a duty was imposed on informants who worked to identify hotbeds of the spread of political sedition. Of course, new functions in such cases, as a rule, acquired the character of side functions that were not performed efficiently enough ^{[12, l. 9-10]}.

Measures to prevent the use of postal communication in the interests of illegal propaganda and crime at the beginning of the XX century.

The protection of postal transports was one of the "cornerstones" in the case of police escort of mail activities by railway gendarmes in the Russian Empire, but not the only one. It was necessary not only to ensure the safety of transportation, but also to prevent the spread of shipments through railways that could harm the state and the population.

The activity of the railway gendarmes in the above-mentioned respect, which requires a separate study, is to counteract the distribution of publications that undermined political stability in the Russian Empire. For example, on May 10, 1914 The Police Department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs distributed a secret circular among the heads of the provincial gendarmerie, gendarmerie police departments of railways and departments for the protection of public safety and order, with instructions to withdraw copies of a number of publications from the post office: "The Life of a Pharmacist", "The Path of Truth", "Persistent Thought", "Severnaya Rabochaya Gazeta", "Textile Worker", "The worker", etc. ^{[13, l. 3]}.

The controllability of the contents of postal items forced foreign spies, bandits and revolutionaries to look for ways to quickly transmit information to the postal service. One of these methods was the transmission of messages with the help of pigeons, which seemed to have already been pushed by progress to the sidelines of the history of communication. The facts of the interception of birds used by the attackers were reported to the ranks of the gendarmerie corps: "The head of the Warsaw Gendarmerie district. Department II. June 20, 1890, No. 4822. Warsaw. Secret. Circularly. To the heads of: provincial and county gendarmerie departments, Warsaw Gendarmerie Police Department of Railways, Departments thereof and their Assistants and Heads of Serf Gendarmerie teams. On June 15, a non-commissioned officer of the 5th squadron of the 14th Dragoon Lithuanian Regiment Serpinsky caught a carrier pigeon in the city of Vloclavsk, on both wings of which No. 32 is marked, the seal of M.B.S and the brand "Thorn. Konsi. Fortifikation.". ^{[14, l. 30]}.

The work of such "alternative mail" was stopped, including by railway gendarmes, who were instructed to secretly observe whether passengers were secretly transporting pigeons ^{[14, l. 29]}.

Conclusions

The police escort of the post office was one of the important elements of the railway gendarmes service in the Russian Empire. Attacks on mail trains and wagons, although they had the character of extraordinary events, were not isolated cases. Information about such precedents accumulated, which made it possible to generalize the tactics of committing robberies, in general, reduced to the sequence: stop the locomotive – eliminate or neutralize the convoy – seize valuables and quickly escape. One of the important conclusions regarding the protection of trains was the use of the advantage given by the range of rifle fire in combat against criminals armed with pistols and bombs.

Police support was not limited solely to the escort of valuable postal items by gendarmes. To identify potential accomplices of "dashing people" among the postmen, their identity was checked by police records to determine the factors of unreliability. Gendarmes recognized the need to conduct intelligence work among postmen.

In general, the secret service work on the railways was accepted by the gendarmerie authorities as a tool that is able to prevent robberies on mail that followed the railways. However, the creation of a special developed agent network capable of detecting the criminal plans of "dashing people" at the stage of conception was hindered by the limited financial resources possessed by the gendarmerie police departments of railways, and often the inability of gendarmerie officials to acquire effective agents.